LAWRENCE — There are going to be a number of what-ifs that are discussed, as Kansas volleyball reflects on its NCAA tournament loss against Penn State.

The Jayhawks battled back twice Friday, after going down a set against the Nittany Lions. Kansas tied things up at one set apiece, and then two sets apiece, as the match went to a fifth set. And even in that fifth set, the Jayhawks held an 11-9 lead as its home crowd buzzed inside Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

But with a Sweet 16 appearance on the line, Kansas ended up falling short. Penn State rallied and won the final set 15-13 to hand the Jayhawks a five-set — 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-13, 13-15 — defeat. And so, instead of discussing what awaits them next this season, Kansas coach Ray Bechard found himself reminiscing about what could have been and thinking about what his latest team in Lawrence meant to him.

“That was two hours and 40 minutes of really good volleyball, and it was really an honor to be a part of that with this team,” Bechard said. “Congratulations to Penn State for moving on. I think we just need to reflect on a moment, on all the joy, enthusiasm and good times that this team has given us. That felt more like an Elite Eight, Final Four match, tonight, than it did a second round match.”

Everyone who watched the match between the 4-seed Jayhawks and 5-seed Nittany Lions (23-8, 15-5 in Big Ten Conference) saw something special Friday, from Bechard’s perspective. He noted how much he is going to miss the Kansas players whose college volleyball careers came to an end with the defeat. He’s looking forward to doing what he can to help the team build upon is run, so it can pursue a different result if it finds itself in this position again.

This was a third-straight NCAA tournament appearance for the Jayhawks. Had they won, they would have reached their second Sweet 16 in that span. Instead, they’ll just have to keep working toward being able to put together another run like they did in 2021.

Senior libero/defensive specialist Molly Schultz felt there was so much positive energy in Kansas’ huddle ahead of the fifth set. She didn’t think anyone was timid with their play, as they looked to protect home court. The Jayhawks just couldn’t deliver the deciding blow later on.

“There was hugging and there was crying,” graduate outside/opposite Reagan Cooper, a Texas Tech transfer, said postgame as she discussed her and her teammates’ post-match reactions. “But I just feel like even though I’ve only been here for — how many months? Five? I’m not sure. … I just got so close with everybody so quickly, everyone was so supportive, so I feel like they’re all my sisters and it doesn’t matter that I’ve been here a short amount of time. Like, I’m going to miss them.”

It may have been too soon, for Bechard to delve deep into how much next year’s team can use this year’s disappointing end as a means of motivation. But being eliminated as one of the hosts of their region in the NCAA tournament did remind Bechard of what happened about a decade ago, when they were also eliminated in the second round as a host in 2012. The very next season, Kansas hosted again and advanced to the Sweet 16 with a team that Bechard thought was ecstatic to not have to deal with that again.

A number of key pieces will be back for next year’s Jayhawks squad. Bechard himself will be the reigning Big 12 Conference coach of the year. Time will tell how much they are able to accomplish, and how it compares to the run Kansas (24-6, 14-4 in Big 12) went on this year.

“If there’s a group that ever played with grit and grace, our two core values, this is the group that did it,” Bechard said. “So, we’ll look back on this season with a lot of fond memories for a long time.”

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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas volleyball’s season ends in NCAA tournament loss vs. Penn State